Celka Straughn

A white woman with shoulder-length brown hair smiles at the camera
she/her/hers
  • Deputy Director for Public Practice and Curatorial, Mellon Director of Academic Programs
785-864-6796

Biography —

Since joining the Spencer Museum in 2009, Celka has worked to integrate the Museum into the mission of the University, while integrating university teaching, learning, research and other activities into the Museum's practices. She works with instructors to facilitate multidisciplinary learning experiences, she works closely with colleagues on some of the many public and academic facets of the Spencer, including curatorial, education, programming, and visitor experience. Celka’s teaching and scholarly work on museums explores collecting practices, art markets, global discourses, cross-disciplinary learning and engagement, and ethics. She teaches courses for KU’s Honors Program and is affiliate faculty in German studies, museum studies, and the Institute for Policy and Social Research.

Selected Publications —

Straughn, C., Hanson, K. (2020). Perspectives on a Legacy Collection: Sallie Casey Thayer’s Gift to the University of Kansas. Spencer Museum of Art. [978-0-913689-99-8].
Straughn, C. (2020). Art, Commerce, and Civic Engagement: The Development of the Thayer Collection. Perspectives on a Legacy Collection: Sallie Casey Thayer’s Gift to the University of Kansas . Spencer Museum of Art.
Straughn, C. (2020). Infinitely Collectible: Snuff Bottles. Perspectives on a Legacy Collection: Sallie Casey Thayer’s Gift to the University of Kansas. Spencer Museum of Art.
Straughn, C. (2020). Complexities of Americanism and Race: Winslow Homer’s West India Divers. Perspectives on a Legacy Collection: Sallie Casey Thayer’s Gift to the University of Kansas. Spencer Museum of Art.
Straughn, C., Gardner, H. (2011). GoodWork in Museums Today..and Tomorrow. Redefining Ethics for the Twenty-First Century Museum. Routledge. [9780415566124 ].
Straughn, C., Lappin , E., Nagel, M. (2008). Reviewing the Weimar Jewish Renaissance: Exhibition Reviews in the German Jewish Press. E. Lappin, M. Nagel (Eds.). Front cover image for Deutsch-jüdische Presse und jüdische Geschichte : Dokumente, Darstellungen, Wechselbeziehungen / The German-Jewish press and Jewish history : documents, representations, interrelations Deutsch-jüdische Presse und jüdische Geschichte : Dokumente, Darstellungen, Wechselbeziehungen = The German-Jewish press and Jewish history : documents, representations, interrelations . Edition Lumiere. [9783934686595].
Heller, R., Hume, N., Morehead, A., Straughn, C. (2002). Exile and Resistance: Artistic Strategies under National Socialism. R. Heller (Eds.). Confronting Identities in German Art: Myths, Reactions, Reflections. Smart Museum Of Art, The University of Chicago Press. [9780935573367].